AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



297 



Bro. York asks how we may be able to de- 

 tect glucose by the taste, and asks for a 

 simple formula for detecting adulterations 

 in honey. Why, bless you, Bro. York, we 

 thought we did ; but as we did not, per- 

 haps, make ourselves clearly undei'stood, 

 we will explain more fully. 



THE TASTE TEST FOR GLUCOSE. 



Such glucose as is used in commerce has 

 a disagreeable, rank, metallic taste, very 

 pronounced : and one who has tasted such 

 pure glucose can easily recognize the stuff 

 when mixed in honey ; that is, providing 

 the proportions are not less than 25 per 

 cent. This can be done as easily as the 

 good housewife can tell whether salt has 

 been put into an oyster-stew. In fact, we 

 believe toe could tell quicker, ourselves, 

 glucose in honey than salt in the stew. It 

 is impossible for us, of course, to set forth 

 in language just how the glucose tastes in 

 honey, so we have sent to Bro. York a 

 sample of the finest glucose we could buy 

 on the market — that is, such glucose as is 

 used commercially for adulterating. It is 

 called " Crystal A," the very best. Now, 

 if Bro. York will take a liberal dose of this 

 glucose, and, later on, get his better half, 

 or somebody else, to introduce, " behind 

 his back," proportions of }i, %, and % into 

 variously numbered samples of honey, we 

 think that, when they are placed before 

 him, together with samples of pure honey, 

 he will be able to separate " the sheep from 

 the goats." 



We ought to say, in this connection, that 

 there is glucose from which the rank, dis- 

 agreeable, metallic taste has been almost 

 entirely eliminated, and the use of which 

 in honey might not be detected. We have 

 had small samples here, but we cannot get 

 it for less than 5 cents, and this would be 

 more expensive than sugar syrup. If this 

 is true, we have, therefore, practically 

 nothing to fear from glucose of this quality. 

 It is only the rank, disagreeable stuff cost- 

 ing about 3% cents, which we have sent to 

 Bro. York, that is used commercially. As 

 to Veteran's experiment with the use of 

 alcohol, we have to acknowledge that his 

 formula was not the same to which we re- 

 ferred. In looking over the test which he 

 followed, we find it to be a sort ■ of corrup- 

 tion, evidently taken from the alcohol test 

 which we took from the Bicncn- Vaier. That 

 test reads as follows : 



"Take a table-spoonful of honey to be 

 tested; pour into a small bottle, and then 

 add three spoonfuls of pure spirit, and 

 shake the whole together thoroughly. In 

 about a quarter of an hour there will form 

 in the bottle a cloudy, whitish sediment; 

 and from this one may be sure the honey is 

 adulterated." 



This, if carefully followed, will, we be- 

 lieve, give quite satisfactory results. We 

 did not mean to say, on page 63, that cdl 

 forms of adulteration can be detected ; but 

 we desired to convey the idea that it was 

 our belief that ordlnarii (jlucoxe mixtures of 

 honey could be recognized by the ordinary 

 bee-keeper. The principal, and only adul- 



terant of honey, is probably glucose. Sugar 

 syrup is used rarely if ever. 



In conclusion we would say that the only 

 way to detect glucose (that is, the commer- 

 cial article) in honey by the taste is to get a 

 small sample of the stuff, and learn how it 

 tastes. 



P. S.— Since writing the above we have 

 learned that a number of glucosed samples 

 of honey, together with other samples of 

 pure honey, werie placed before Prof. Cook 

 at the Los Angeles convention, recently 

 held in California. The Professor recog- 

 nized each one by the taste. 



Well, Bro. Root, the sample which you 

 so kindly sent us, of the " rank, disagree- 

 able stuff," was duly received, and we have 

 just been making the tests as per your sug- 

 gestions, as follows : 



We had some excellent basswood honey, 

 and mixed the glucose in samples in the 

 proportions named by Bro. Root, and then 

 tasted. We could easily recognize the dif- 

 ference in taste between the 34' and the % 

 glucose, but not so easily between the X 

 and %. We also could discern a certain 

 mildness and castor-oilyiness of flavor in 

 the 14: glucose sample, and really we would 

 prefer the taste of pure castor-oil to that 

 of the disgusting glucose that Bro. Root 

 sent us. If that is a fair sample of the 

 "vile stuff" used by honey adulterators, 

 we feel sorry for the people who are de- 

 ceived into buying the nauseating com- 

 pounds. We don't want any more of it ! 



In our opinion, it surely would require an 

 educated taste to detect a 35 per cent, glu- 

 cose adulteration of honey, and we doubt 

 very much if people in general will take 

 the trouble to acquaint themselves with the 

 "rank, disagreeable, metallic taste" of 

 commercial glucose, so as to be able to de- 

 tect its use in the honey they may pur- 

 chase. Of course, we may possess a very 

 poor "tasting apparatus," still our " better 

 half," judging from our alertness in detect- 

 ing anything out of the ordinary in eat- 

 ables, thinks that we have either a good 

 taster or else a very strong imagination. 

 This, however, is only her opinion, as we 

 may possibly have neither. 



It seems to us that the only practical and 

 reliable method of detecting honey adul- 

 teration must finally come from chemical 

 tests, and when once it is satisfactorily 

 shown (and that time may now be here) 

 that chemistry can be depended upon to 

 detect the adulteration of honey, the adul- 

 terator can then quickly be located, and 

 promptly prosecuted under the National 

 law that must soon be enacted for the pro- 

 tection of all honest producers of food 

 pi'oducts. 



